Letter from the Editor -
Welcome to the summer edition of our Under Construction newsletter. In this issue, we highlight several hot topic items affecting the construction industry such as what happens when the...more

Although a Federal district court refrained from providing a definitive answer to this question, it appears unlikely given the court’s holding and reasoning in United States v. U.S. Bank, N.A., No. 3:13-cv-704, 2015 WL...more

Why “Completion” is Important in California -
In California, project “completion,” is important not only for getting paid, but for also understanding the deadlines associated with California’s statutory construction...more

On April 17, Quicken Loans filed a preemptive lawsuit against the DOJ and HUD in the Eastern District of Michigan against HUD, the HUD-IG, and DOJ, asserting that it “appears to be one of the targets (due to its large size)...more

The City of Vancouver and Brenhill Developments Ltd. have appealed the January 27, 2014 decision of the BC Supreme Court in Community Association of New Yaletown v Vancouver (City), 2015 BCSC 117 (the Brenhill/New Yaletown...more

Attorneys Michael Shiner and Irving Firman obtained a successful decision on appeal confirming the right of a governmental landlord to evict tenants following rejection of leases in bankruptcy. The Housing Authority sought a...more

In what is becoming an annual refrain, 2014 marked another year of robust False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and mushrooming qui tam lawsuits by whistleblowers. Indeed, fiscal year 2014...more

A recent Virginia case strictly construing a statutory limit on the amount of contract change orders has raised concerns among contractors doing business with Virginia state and local agencies. In Carnell Construction Corp....more

AC35632- U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Foote -
Second time is the charm. Defendant succeeded in getting plaintiff’s foreclosure action dismissed for lack of standing due to the inability of the witnesses to establish that the...more

A federal judge recently rejected motions to dismiss in a suit in which the U.S. government alleged that two mortgage originators and their officers defrauded the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into...more

On September 24, U.S. District Court Judge Jesse Furman largely denied a bank’s motion to dismiss a complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in which the government alleges...more

On September 10, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas denied a mortgage lender’s motion to dismiss the federal government’s claims that the lender and two of its executives knowingly made false...more

One of the most vexing issues arising under CEQA, particularly in cases of projects involving public-private partnerships or projects requiring public agency financial assistance, is the question of when project approval...more

On May 8, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed claims for damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act (FCA) brought by the federal government against a mortgage lender alleged to...more

On April 4, Birmingham attorney and State Representative Paul DeMarco led the effort to pass the 2013 version of the Alabama Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights II, HB 264. The House of Representatives voted 96-2 in favor of the bill....more

Keith Andress, Natalie Bolling and Stephen Pudner of Baker Donelson's Birmingham office were recently successful in having a mortgagor's claims seeking punitive damages against a major mortgage servicing company dismissed...more

CCA Associates v. United States

This procedurally complex case boils down to a simple constitutional question: If the government reneges on a contract and forces a property owner to rent apartments at below-market rates for longer than originally agreed,...more

Today, the Virginia Supreme Court issued a number of opinions affecting the practice of Virginia local government law. These summaries are from the Virginia Supreme Court website....
101168 Campbell County v. Royal...more

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